Etymologically
Log in

softball

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word softball

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1867 Freeport (Illinois) Daily Journal
Ultimate origins
Old English sōfteOld Norse bǫllr
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English soft
English softball
From the same root
English software ← soft

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈsɒftbɔːl/, /ˈsɒfbɔːl/[1]
  • US: /ˈsɑːftbɔːl/, /ˈsɑːftbɑːl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English soft + ball,[2][3][4][5] and the OED compares the earlier hardball.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A modified form of baseball, played with a larger and slightly softer ball on a smaller field: 1867, in the Freeport (Illinois) Daily Journal, according to the OED's 2016 revision.[2] Etymonline dates the ball to 1914 and the name of the game to 1916, when it was also called "playground baseball";[3] Merriam-Webster gives 1926 and Dictionary.com 1925–30.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The game and the word are originally North American.[2] In sugar-boiling a soft ball is a soft globule formed when syrup is dropped into cold water, a test of its stage, recorded from 1869 in the OED and 1894 in Etymonline.[2][3] From 1914 a soft ball was also a deliberately gentle or slow shot in tennis and other racket games; the verb, recorded from 1927, meant to play such shots against an opponent.[2] The ball used in the game is recorded as softball from 1936.[2] The figurative uses contrast it with hardball: a softball question is an easy one, especially one put to a politician, from 1974;[3] to play softball, to be accommodating, from 1976;[2] and the verb, to treat someone gently or ask them unchallenging questions, from 1982.[2] In American slang the adjective means trivial or easy.[6]

Timeline

  • 1867 – the game, a modified form of baseball.[2]
  • 1869 – a soft globule of boiled sugar syrup.[2]
  • 1914 – a gentle shot in tennis; the ball, in Etymonline.[2][3]
  • 1916 – the game, in Etymonline.[3]
  • 1927 – verb, to play soft shots against an opponent.[2]
  • 1974 – softball question.[3]
  • 1976 – to play softball, to be accommodating.[2]
  • 1982 – verb, to treat in an unchallenging way.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A team game like baseball, played on a smaller diamond with a larger, softer ball that is pitched underhand, usually over seven innings.[7][4][2]
  2. The ball used in this game.[7][4][2]
  3. (cookery) The stage in boiling sugar syrup at which a drop forms a soft ball in cold water.[7][2]
  4. A gentle or slow shot in tennis and other racket games.[2]

Verb

  1. To treat someone gently or without challenge, especially by asking easy questions.[2]

Adjective

  1. (US, informal) Easy or unchallenging: a softball question.[6][3]

Word family

  • softballer

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Softball.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/softball. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·